BM # 39
Day : 30
State : West Bengal
Today is the 30th day and the last day of this month long marathon. We have been cooking traditional cuisne across Indian states.This has been a very interesting marathon, where we started planning months back,We have exchanged umpteen mails and messages not to miss the phone calls. This marathon has been a total hit, we have so many new dishes from the different states, interestingly for a few states we have had Days!..like for Arunachal Pradesh most of them posted thukpa..so a Thukpa Day, for Himachal it was Channa Madra…and so was Bajra Khichdi.It only shows that we friends are all like minded!!
Okay we come to the last state in the series..West Bengal
What comes into the mind when we talk about Bengali Cuisine? It’s the fish and rice preparations accompanied with the Bengali sweets. West Bengal is well known as the land of maach (fish) and bhaat (rice). The various preparations of fresh water fish and a vast range of rice dishes is Bengal’s specialty. The typical Bengali cuisine is now divided between the Independent country of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.
The Bengalis are great food lovers and take pride in their cuisine. The medium of cooking is mustard oil which adds on its own pungency. Another very important item of Bengali cuisine is the variety of sweets or mishti as they call them. Most of them are milk based and are prepared from chaana (paneer as it is popularly known). The most popular among the Bengali sweets are the Rosogolla, Sandesh, Pantua and Mishti Doi and these four sweets are a must at every wedding besides some other sweets, which may vary as per individual choice. A meal, for the Bengali, is a ritual in itself even if it only boiled rice and lentils (dal bhat), with of course a little fish.
Bengali cuisine is rather particular in the way vegetables and meat (or fish) are prepared before cooking. Some vegetables are used unpeeled, in some preparations fish is used un-skinned in contrast as well. However, in most dishes vegetables are peeled, and fish scaled and skinned.
Vegetables are to be cut in different ways for different preparations. Dicing, julienne, strips, scoops, slices, shreds are common and one type of cut vegetables cannot replace another style of cutting for a particular preparation.
Qutb-ud-din brought Bengal under Muslim control at the end of the 12th century and after the death of Aurangzeb it became an independent Muslim state. This introduced Mughlai cooking in Bengal. Bengali Moslems adopted dishes such as kebabs, koftas and biryani from their Mughal conquerors. But the major portion of Bengali Hindu cuisine retained its original characteristics except that the use of onion and garlic became more popular.
Today we shall cook a simple Tauk Daal, which is a lentil flavored with raw mango..this daal has a amazing flavor.The combination to the daal is Doi Dharosh, okra with yogurt. This is one of their lunch menus, for breakfast they enjoy Aaloor Dum with Luchis. One of their favorite street food is Jhal muri, which is like Bhelpuri. So on to the recipes…
Tauk Daal
1 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp onion seeds
250 gms pigeon pea
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3 medium raw mangoes
4 -6 green chillies
salt to taste
2 tsp sugar
Wash, take off and cut the mangoes into 6-8 pieces lengthwise.
Wash the dal and boil with 4 cup of water.
Mix turmeric and stir.
Continue cooking for about 20 minutes.
Mix i raw mangoes, green chillies and salt.
Stir fry till the mangoes are soft but not mushy.
Mix sugar and stir.
Heat ghee in a kadhai and temper with onion seeds.
Doi Dharosh
250 gms Bhindi / Okra, washed and wiped well , heads and tails chopped
Pinch turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Make a paste
1 small onion
2 green chilli
3 tbsp yogurt
1 tbsp cashew
Other ingredients
1 bay leaf
1 green cardamom
2 cloves
1’ stick cinnamon
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp kashmiri chilli
Heat oil.
Add the okra.
Add salt and turmeric powder.Saute.Keep aside.
Heat oil.
Add bay leaf,cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.
Add the prepared paste, sauté.
Add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli and let it cook for a few minutes.
Add the sauted Okra.
Mix well .
Add ¼ cup water, salt, pinch sugar and let it simmer.
The okra should be well cooked and the gravy should cling to it.
Check the seasoning and adjust according to taste.
While ending this marathon I would say a word of thanks to all my fellow bloggers for posting wonderful recipes and special thanks to Valli for organizing this event.
A word for viewers…I have tried my best to give some authentic traditional recipes, but since the cuisines are so vast I may have made some errors..please bear!!
simple and homey!! love them both Vaishali ji!!
Wow Vaishali, it's been a month long fun and so good to read your posts..thank you for being such a wonderful person, always ready to help. I have enjoyed reading all the stories you had to say and drooled over your food..
Both dishes are new to me. Never cooked with pigeon peas before, in fact just two days ago I saw them in a store and wondered what is made with it. Now I know. Nicely presented.
It was great sharing this month long journey with you and reading all the dishes you prepared.
Yea as u told, we had thukpa day, kosoi bwtwi day etc, actually NE states pulled us to the extreme but still we all did well. Everytime i come here u never failed to surprise us Vaishali, always love the variety of foods you serve virtually to us. Doi dharosh and tauk daal are irresistible and definitely comforting foods.
Love how you have described in detail about Bengali food and its preparation. And the bhindi recipe is new for me. The mango dal I have heard before. Lovely way to end this marathon, Vaishali…
The last pic is classic vaishali. Crisp and clear. Both dishes are so comforting for everyday meals. Bookmarked and it was a lovely marathon this month. 🙂 🙂
New recipes, Vaishali. It is always a pleasure to go thru your posts as each one sounds so traditional and thoroughly researched.
What a great way to end the series Vaishali. Lovely post and both the dishes are so traditional and look amazing.
Recipes are so new to me! Looks so tempting Vaishali. Enjoyed doing this marathon with you.Learnt a lot of new stuffs 🙂
i love the spices in the okra curry.. looks delish.
Lovely combo to have anytime for lunch or dinner . Such a wonderful post to end the marathon ….
The recipes sound new to me,bookmarking..must be delicious and yummy..
Lovely delicious and what a way way to end. This post says everyday food can be so lovely. Thanks Vaishali I loved the series. I would not have been possible without you for me to make it to the end of theseries.
wow thats a very very delicious and tempting dishes makes me hungry and such an fabulous post to end the marathon 🙂 very yummy journey here and you have done it so well di 🙂
You did wonderful job with the dishes you cooked. Enjoyed reading your intros and the recipes as well. Dal and doi dharosh look delicious.